Best Laid Plans

1888-1889: Being A Head

Dio managed to separate his head from his hamon-infused body as he fell. 

It was not a pleasant experience. 

Somehow, he managed to use his veins to swing himself out of free fall and onto the ground. Not that it mattered much, he supposed. The second the sun rose he was done for. Without a body, what could he do? 

He closed his eyes.

He’d done his best, there was nothing left to do. He thought of Zeppeli, gone because he hadn’t moved fast enough. He thought of the hundreds of other people Erina had devoured by now.

Tears dripped down his face.

He was going to die here and JoJo would marry Erina, and then she’d kill him too. 

And there was nothing he could do about it.

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Speedwagon left the castle as quickly as he could, leaving Jonathan with the Hamon wielders. Straizo had nodded at him, making no attempts to stop him. 

They all knew this fight was far from over.

Speedwagon walked around the base of the castle, calling out for Dio as loud as he dared to. 

He’d almost given up hope when he heard a voice reply.

Picking up the head, they talked, deciding on a course of action.

Dio spent the trip home shoved at the bottom of Speegwagon’s bag.

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Jonathan was surprised at how quickly they made it back to the Joestar Estate when they weren’t being attacked by zombies every five steps they took. Not that there was much to return to, just the burnt remains of his childhood home.

And Erina.

Wonderful, beautiful, Erina.

After his near-death experiences, Jonathan couldn’t wait any longer to marry her. He proposed and they were married within a month.

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Being a head was rather inconvenient. Not that there was much he could do about it—unless he cut off some random passerby’s head and took theirs. 

But, in some ways, it was rather convenient. After all, Straizo and Dire would never have been able to sneak him on board the ship in their luggage.

Being locked in the luggage wasn’t exactly comfortable, but he had been shoved in smaller spaces. 

Silently, Dio swore to himself that he’d never travel this way ever again once this was all over.

And it would be over soon.

Erina was unaware of who Dire and Straizo were and JoJo was a bit too…preoccupied to notice them on the ship. As soon as Erina made her move, Dio would do his best to protect JoJo in the ensuing chaos.

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Dio was crying. He was a vampire, faster than anyone else in the world, and he’d still been too slow. 

For the third time.

Erina had taken Straizo and Dire out so quickly, Dio hadn’t seen it happen.

Luckily, she hadn’t known they were Hamon users, and her focus had been on Dio and JoJo, so they were just unconscious.

JoJo hadn’t been so lucky. He’d managed to use his Hamon to break the ship, and Erina had fled, but it was already too late.

He was bleeding, bleeding, blood all over his clothes, all over the floor. And Dio was crying, tears dripping off his disembodied head.

“Dio,” JoJo whispered, and for once in his stupid life, Dio paid proper attention to what his brother was saying. “I’m sorry for what I did to you…I shouldn’t have doubted you.”

“I forgive you, JoJo,” Dio whispered, and JoJo smiled at him. It was just a shadow of what that smile used to be.

“Dio, take my body,” JoJo said, and Dio opened his mouth to protest, but he was cut off. “Do you see that baby on the stairs?”

When Dio nodded, he continued.

“Take my body and the baby and escape. Dire and Straizo are waking up, but you need to go now.”

“Goodbye, Dio.” 

His eye’s closed.

His brother was dead. Dio heard the second his heart stopped, and the second his breathing stopped. 

Tears still streaming down his face, he followed his brother’s last wishes and ran for the lifeboats.

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Dire and Straizo had made it out seconds after Dio, their Hamon increasing their healing capabilities. With Dio’s vampiric strength, they made it back to port before sun up.

They made their way to Speedwagon’s house—wet, cold, crying baby in their arms, and—most importantly—alive.